Embedded
3D printing enables the manufacture of soft, intricate
structures. In the technique, a nozzle is embedded into a viscoelastic
support bath and extrudes filaments or droplets. While embedded 3D
printing expands the printable materials space to low-viscosity fluids,
it also presents new challenges. Filament cross-sections can be tall
and narrow, have sharp edges, and have rough surfaces. Filaments can
also rupture or contract due to capillarity, harming print fidelity.
Through digital image analysis of in situ videos of the printing process
and images of filaments just after printing, we probe the effects
of ink and support rheology, print speeds, and interfacial tension
on defects in individual filaments. Using model materials, we determine
that if both the ink and support are water-based, the local viscosity
ratio near the nozzle controls the filament shape. If the ink is slightly
more viscous than the support, a round, smooth filament is produced.
If the ink is oil-based and the support is water-based, the capillary
number, or the product of the ink speed and support viscosity divided
by the interfacial tension, controls the filament shape. To suppress
contraction and rupture, the capillary number should be high, even
though this leads to trade-offs in roughness and roundness. Still,
inks at nonzero interfacial tension can be advantageous, since they
lead to much rounder and smoother filaments than inks at zero interfacial
tension with equivalent viscosity ratios.